pituitary
pronunciation
How to pronounce pituitary in British English:
UK [pɪˈtju:ɪtəri]
How to pronounce pituitary in American English:
US [pɪˈtuəteri]
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- Noun:
- the master gland of the endocrine system; located at the base of the brain
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- Adjective:
- of or relating to the pituitary gland
- having abnormal size with overgrown extremities resulting from abnormal pituitary secretion
Word Origin
- pituitary
- pituitary: see pine
- pituitary (adj.)
- 1610s, from Latin pituitarius "mucous," from pituita "clammy moisture, phlegm, mucus, slime," possibly from a suffixed form of PIE root *peie- "to be fat, swell" (see fat (adj.)). Taken as the name for the gland because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose. As a noun by 1899.
Example
- 1. Instead , the team discovered that the pituitary does not lose its ability to respond to insulin .
- 2. Chronically high levels of luteinizing hormone and other signals released by the pituitary disrupt the natural cycle of fertility hormones that signal the ovaries to release eggs .
- 3. Removing the insulin receptors in the pituitary keeps the gland from going into overdrive and releasing too much of the fertility hormones in the obese mice .
- 4. As insulin levels rise with weight gain , the pituitary releases ever higher levels of the fertility-regulating luteinizing hormone .
- 5. " I just didn 't think that insulin could be such a big role-player , especially in the pituitary , " hausman says .